The Phantom in Me
by She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named2
Summary: Harry finally confesses his love for Hermione that summer. Too bad Lord Voldemort picks that time to possess Hermione. What effects could this have on their relationship???Bad Timing, Voldie.
1. Late into the Night

Title- *"The Phantom in Me"*

A.N.- Greetings. As you can see, I am She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, aka Seiki's "Secret Friend". Seiki, unfortunately, sort of accidentally did NOT choose to accept anonymous reviews so I have to make a freakin' story of my own to submit a signed review. (But if you really wanna know, I'm doing this out of fear because my so-called "friend" decided to blackmail me concerning EXTREMELY delicate matters. looking daggers right now) 'LANG HIYA KA!!! 

But anyway, since I'm making a story of my own which is COMPLETELY in my own hands, I decided to make the best out of it… evil grin   :)

[ ]=Author's thoughts

All you have to know is that they're in their Fifth Year, thus, the majority is fifteen years old. 

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize is not mine, obviously.

P.S. Thank Seiki for my groovy title J

On to the First Chapter… :)

Chapter One: Into the Night…(bow)

            "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

            Hermione's scream echoed throughout her whole house, waking up her 

parents, Crookshanks, and possibly a couple of mice in the attic as beads of 

sweat formed and rolled down on her pale forehead. Crookshanks leaped up unto 

her bed and started to hiss at Hermione but decided to otherwise crawl on her 

outstretched, rigid, shivering legs for support.

            "Honey, are you alright?" came Mrs. Granger's voice from the other 

side of the room as she opened the door and switched the lights on, wearing only 

her pink bathrobe. [Don't get any funny ideas.]

            "I'm alright, mum, I just had a terrible nightmare. But I'm okay 

now," Hermione reassured her mum (and partly herself, too) panting, and at the 

same time wiping the sweat from her forehead. 

            "Do you want to talk about it, dear?" Mrs. Granger walked over to 

Hermione's bed, her feet rubbing against the soft cream carpet.

            "No, mum, thanks though. I'll just go back to sleep."

            "Your father and I were frightfully worried; you practically 

screamed bloody murder! Well, if you're alright, see you in the morning then." 

Mrs. Granger walked across the room and gave Hermione a concerned glance. "Are 

you sure you don't need anything, Hermione?"

            "Yes, mum, I'm sure," Hermione tried to hide her exasperation while 

trying to sound perfectly sure.

            "Okay then. Goodnight." She finally switched off the light and 

exited the room.

            Hermione could hear the faint voices outside along the hallway: 

"She's fine, dear, just a nightmare…" She sighed. 'They're always treating me 

like a child. I just turned 15 for crying out loud, and I'm ready to grow up!!!' 

Oh, but you did scream like a bat out of bloody hell, a little voice at the back 

of her head said.

            Hermione tried to remember her dream but did it in vain, as it was 

awfully difficult; it was like trying to grasp water with her dainty little 

hands. 'I remember Voldemort being able to reach Harry in Hogwarts with 

Dumbledore and all somehow. And odd blinding flashes of light, or else it were 

peculiar dazzling darkness.'

            "It was only a dream, Hermione." She said aloud as she half 

reassured, half-scolded herself. Or so it might seem…

            Hermione just about started to doze off when a large tawny owl came 

tap-tap-tapping on her bedroom window. 'Looks like one of the Hogwarts owls. 

Probably the letter they give each year.' She got right out of bed, opened her 

window (which held several potted plants, mostly flower buds) and untied the 

letter from the owl's foot. 'Seems a bit heavier than usual.' [Though I don't 

know what she meant by "a bit", because if it were I who was holding the letter 

I would've been greatly surprised by its weight, and would literally tear the 

letter in excitement. Buti na lang.(translation: Fortunately.)]

        She hurriedly unfolded the first parchment and read it.

          _"Ms Hermione Granger,_

                             "We are pleased to inform you blah blah blah Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry blah blah blah Hogwarts Express blah first of September.

_                   "Deputy Headmistress,_

_                   "Prof. Minerva McGonagall"_

          She hastily scanned the booklist and noticed that it was even longer than last year's. 'Oh yeah, we were going to take our OWL exams this year. Wonder who the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher this year will be....'

          And at last the Final Letter:

          _"Ms Hermione Granger,_

_                             "It is our honor to bestow upon you the resposibility of the Gryffindor Prefect._ ("Oh My God...") _The duties and privileges of a prefect are as follows:_

                             [You don't expect me to write that down do you? It would seem terribly dull to write those down except for the authority to add or subtract points from all of Hogwarts' houses, but that, too, comes hand-in-hand with a corresponding duty. But I assure you, Hermione read it as thoroughly as she can (and this is Hermione, mind you), and reread it in the future for useful purposes.]

                             _"The safety and well-being of the entire student body, staff and Hogwarts itself relies on your leadership abilities and integrity for your assigned task. Further inquiries shall be entertained. _

                   "Deputy Headmistress, 

                   _"Prof. Minerva McGonagall_

                             _"P.S. Enclosed in the envelope is your official prefect badge."_

          'What Prefect Badge?' Hermione thought, puzzled. But then she reached in the envelope and produced _THE_ Prefect Badge [Background Music: _Angel Choir_] There it shone, red and gold, engraved with the title: _Prefect_.

          The Hogwarts owl clucked her beak in impatience, waiting for the reply-message. Hermione quickly grabbed a quill and parchment and wrote down in her neatest possible penmanship [which was _bloody_ difficult, considering that her hand was trembling with excitement, all the while thinking of how proud her parents would be.

          _Prof. McGonagall_,

                             _I, Hermione Granger, duly accept the responsibility of a Gryffindor Prefect and hereby promise to abide by the rules and regulations of Hogwarts, and to lead my fellow students the best I can_.

          She carefully folded it and put it inside the envelope & tied it to the owl's leg. She stroked the owl and it gave a soft hoot and flew away.

          Hermione glanced at the wall clock. 'It's 3 in the morning already?! But I could hardly stay still, let alone sleep!" But this came to her advantage because almost instantly after she said this (or rather _shouted_ this) in came another owl by her open window, which she recognized as _Pigwidgeon_.

          "PIG!" She exclaimed excitedly as she hurried to untie the letter on its foot.

          "Dearest Hermione 

_                             "How are you and Krum? Hope you're doing fine. _("So he's over our recurring disputes?" Hermione smirked._)_

_                             "Harry is coming over. The beastly Dursleys aren't a problem, as long as they know Sirius is around. _(Good old Sirius._) He's been writing to Harry often. _(Good, so we know he's okay)_ So why don't you come over and stay here for the rest of the summer break? It would be wicked, having the two of you around._

                             _"Percy's gone to the ministry to help sort out problems concerning You-Know-Who, with Barty Crouch dead and all, so I guess you can stay in his room. As for Fred and George, well, with the tons of Galleons Harry gave them, they're trying to invest on the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes so expect them locked up in their room with occasional booms and bangs._

_                             "Send Pig back pronto if you're gonna come over and if you're not, send Pig back pronto anyway. (Have I used this line before? Never mind...)_

_                             "See you soon!_

_                   "Love,_

_                   "Ron"_

          Hermione grabbed another piece of parchment from her desk and dipped her quill in the inkbottle.

          _Dear Ron, and Harry if you're there'_

_                             That would be fan-bloody-tastic!!! I'd love to go over there! We can buy our books and parchment together then. Did you notice, by the way, that our booklist for this year was longer than usual?_

_                             Anyway, I decided not to go and spend my summer over at Krum's, for private, personal reasons. (cough, cough) Thanks for asking, though._

_                             I'll be there by tomorrow afternoon with my parents._

_                   Love,_

_                   Hermione_

          She decided not to mention about her being a prefect on the letter and tell them tomorrow instead. She tickled Pigwidgeon a bit before she let her out into the night.

          By then, she completely forgot about her horrible dream.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A.N. So, What do you think? R & R please ;)

To all the Filipinos out there: **_MABUHAY!!_**


	2. Summer at the Burrow (A Heavenly Sight!)

Title: _"The Phantom in Me"_

A.N. Muchos Gracias, my darling seňoritas (or seňoritos) for the delightful reviews!!! I appreciate them. J

Disclaimer: read chapter one. (Well, you must've already read it since you're now on chapter 2. _Who pays attention to disclaimers anyway?_)

Warning: You will encounter a few bad words and… just find out for yourself… ;) (Wink!)

On to the next chapter!

**Chapter Two: _The Burrow_**

          The late morning warm sunshine rays shone in upon Hermione's face. (It rhymes!) Crookshanks purred atop her lap as she sat in their family car, the CR-V. She couldn't stop grinning. 'Her mother had hugged her, and her father had swelled with pride when she told them the good news. Plus, she's on the way to finally meet her two best friends at the Burrow. 'Nothing can wreck my _wonderful_ day! Not even my mum and dad's pestering me to bring more luggage than I could possibly need. No, _absolutely nothing_ can ruin my beautiful day!'

          The traffic wasn't so bad. Although they had to ask a couple of directions from random people as the Burrow was outside of their map range (or was magicked _unplottable_, more likely.) But they instantly knew that they were almost there because an airborne gnome came careening by and hit the windshield, which gave Mrs. Granger a terrible fright. 

          "Goodness gracious!" exclaimed Mrs. Granger. "Oh my Lord, we hit a poor little bird!"

          "A bird with a rather rugged head?" Mr. Granger pointed out. "I'd say it was a flying potato."

          Hermione chuckled from the backseat. "Oh, mum, dad, what you just saw a garden gnome." And she brimmed with excitement and got out of the vehicle and hopped down with her duffel bag as Crookshanks followed.

          "Oy, Hermione, over here!" Fred (or George) called at about fifty feet away.

Ron was busy trying to pry a gnome from his pant leg. "Bloody—little—bastard," He grunted.

Hermione jumped over the hedge and half0skipped half-ran over the clumps of bushes, weeds and curious little red flowers that emitted small puffs of purple smoke. (Although she was having difficulty doing this for she was wearing a long denim skirt.) Her parents seemed very much intrigued by the Weasleys' garden, as they hadn't moved an inch from their car, fearing to be hit by the gnomes.

Soon enough, Hermione tripped over a pair of legs and fell fat on her butt. "Ooooooowww…"

"Hey, Hermione," Harry greeted from his kneeling position. (He was chasing a gnome on all fours.) And golden-brown orbs locked with emerald ones.

Suddenly—neither of them had expected it—everything else seemed blurry as fireworks exploded. (Though it was only in their imagination. You would know that.) At that moment, nothing else seemed to matter, except their sudden connection. It seemed like it lasted forever, but forever was still too short…

Unfortunately, Hermione's butt landed on a flat-nosed gnome, which made it look even flatter. And in extreme anger, the infuriated little gnome bit her ass—HARD.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Hermione screamed in pain, and 

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Harry yelled, startled indeed.

"You—nasty—little—scum!!! You're dead, potato-head." Hermione grabbed the gnome on its ankles and flung it away as hard as she could, nearly missing Mr. and Mrs. Granger's advancing figures.

"Hermione, are you alright? What happened?" Mrs. Granger said, getting more anxious every second. 

Hermione glanced at Harry. "I-I'm alright mum. A nasty little booger of a gnome thought my dignity quite delectable. I'm alright, really, and I could take it from here."

"Well, alright then. But if you need us, you know where to reach us."

"Yes, mum. Bye then!" 

Mr. Granger gave one last look at the Burrow, and then at Hermione, then took off with Mrs. Granger toward the CR-V.

All the while, Harry had become silent and was suddenly very interested in the soles of his shoes.

Thankfully, three redheads rescued them from the awkward moment of silence.

"Mione, that was _bloody_ graceful of you," Ron chuckled, as Hermione dusted off the soil from her skirt.

Hermione shot Ron a look that few people could refrain from cowering under it.

"May we offer you our most humble service, fair damsel?" Fred said in his most dignified voice. And not waiting for a reply, he whisked away Hermione's duffel bag.

"Hop on our chariot, m' lady," said George as he lifted Hermione up and piggybacked her all the way across the garden, into the house and propped her down on one of their lumpy but comfy sofas. All the rest followed after them as they cheered along the way. Harry came in last. (Apparently, Fred tried to hop on Harry's back when Harry wasn't looking. Thus, Harry was forced to tumble down and kiss the ground. [And I don't envy him!])

When they all at last caught their breath, Mrs. Weasley came and greeted them with a lovely warm smile, the type that makes you feel that everything will be right in the world. She then offered them iced lemon tea. 

They started to go upstairs to show Percy's room, in which she would stay. A couple of flights up led to a stuffy hallway. (Well, That is what it was supposed to be, but it seems only like several cubic feet because of all the magical contraptions scattered here and there, but Hermione didn't mind.)

Hermione noticed Ginny's voice coming from her locked door—"She keeps to herself most of the time lately," Ron explained. "I reckon she's got a boyfriend…" He smirked.

"So what's up, 'Mione?" asked Ron as he led Hermione to Percy's room, closely followed by Fred, George, and a limping Harry.

"Let me show you," Hermione said as she reached deep inside her pocket for her _glorious_ Prefect Badge and showed them. (A brilliant light shone upon her, as the background sound effects played: Hallelujah!!!) "I'm a Gryffindor prefect!" she said slowly, each syllable dripping with pride. She shone like a beacon of hope to all the despairing student of Hogwarts.

(The background sound effects was abruptly cut off by a sound familiarly like a radio DJ unexpectedly taking off the swiftly playing disk. If you want to know exactly how it sounded like, listen to the sound immediately preceding the lyrics of the song _POP_ of N'Sync."

This was so, for Ron had sprayed his iced tea all over Harry's face as he had tried to stifle his guffaws in vain.

"Ron!" Harry exclaimed indignantly as he tried to wipe Ron's spit-contaminated iced tea off him, while Hermione shot Ron her death glare, the one Ron was quite used to by now, but was nevertheless effective.

"Wicked!" said George.

"You could take points—" said Fred.

"From Slytherin—"

"Without being caught—"

"Or being told off!!!"

And they both smiled identical evil grins not even experts could tell them apart.

"Honestly! I should've thought so!" Hermione said huffily. She then picked up her red duffel bag and stormed off into Percy's room and shut the door with a crisp snap.

"Oh come on Hermione, we're only jokin'!" Fred said.

"Um hmm, of course you are," came Hermione's sarcastic voice from inside the room.

But as the boys continued the flight of stairs up, Fred checked that they were out of Hermione's earshot and whispered to Harry: "I think we're gonna have a lot of fun this year…" 

~0~0~0~0~

Dinner (or supper, as called by some,) that night, they all had a wonderful time, but Harry made sure he was out of Ron's vicinity as he might spit out his juice at him. (A famous wizard concoction w/c tasted rather like banana root beer soda)

Their selection of food was indeed delicious which was composed of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, Caesar's salad and spaghetti with meatballs. The aroma was so fragrant you could almost taste it. The delightful dinner was ended with a couple of Fred and George's Filibuster's fireworks.

~0~0~0~0~

Late in the evening, Hermione took a long hot bath to soothe herself after the long day. She put on her peach bathrobe after the (slightly relaxing) bathe. 

"I'm probably suffering from insomnia," she concluded as she brushed her hair in front of the fogged mirror. 

"Oh my…" The sight of herself rendered her speechless. Her chestnut brown hair framed her delicate, creamy complexion. _And her lips…_ They were pink and soft (if you touched it) and made you think of bright, ripe cherries waiting to be… eaten. ;)

Finally, she decided to go downstairs and stargaze in the Weasley's backyard. (If you wanted to know, she didn't bother to dress into her pajamas.)

To narrate this story better, you'll have to view it from Harry's point of view. We shall journey back through yonder zenith of the Weasley's treacherous staircase into Ron's unkempt quarters and back five minutes. (He he Õ_Õ) 

Harry kept on tossing and turning on his (but it was really Ron's) bed. He tried pulling the quilt over his head but dust particles fell into Harry's brilliant emerald eyes.

"Aagh—!" Harry abruptly sat up and tried to blink the dust out of his eyes. "That does it. I am officially unable to sleep." He grabbed his glasses and shoved them up his nose as soon as he managed to clear up his vision. He tiptoed to the door, careful not to wake Ron up. (If you could remember from the past years, Harry had a water jug by the window of the boys' dormitories, but this time, he had to go all the way back downstairs.)

The moment he got a glass of water from the Weasley's quaint kitchen, he heard shuffling feet from the staircase (which happened to be Hermione's). 

Harry _almost_ dropped the glass when he looked at Hermione and he can't help but stare in trepidation. 

_"What!?_" Hermione asked, frantically examining herself. "Are there beetles in my hair?! Because I just took a bath and—and if there are—" 

"Her—Hermione… y—you look… nice." Harry finished lamely. 

"Well, you don't look pretty bad yourself, Mr. Potter. You scared the hell outta me." She approached Harry.

"…Why are you up?"

"I was just going to ask you that myself."

"I—I couldn't sleep…" And from sheer nervousness, Harry just looked down several inches from Hermione's face and instead found a sight much too intriguing for our young, innocent raven-haired boy.

 _"Shit,"_ Harry thought as he felt his face reddening. Hermione's bathrobe was undone a few inches lower than she intended. _Hermione's cleavage showed._

Harry quickly looked up—red-faced and all— and stuttered: "I—I'd b-better be going now—" and dashed up the stairs as fast as he could, unaware of the water splashing out from his glass and down his front. Then when he reached Ron's room (which you know was at the very top,) he was surprised to see his glass empty and he (and his clothes) were drenched. He carefully tiptoed to his room despite of the fact that his heart seemed to want to burst out of his chest. He can't stop thinking of Hermione (and the nasty little memory of what he had seen earlier) as he lay on his bed, full of adrenaline.

'This had been a _very_ weird night.' Both Harry and Hermione murmured.

~0~0~0~0~

A.N. Thank you, thank you, thank you very much.

My thanks to my dear reviewers, you know who you are ;)

And my very special thanks to Seiki: Thanks for everything. Ü

P.S. R & R and tell me what you think. Ü I'm gonna be busy for the next few days so expect the next chapter in a week or so. But don't worry guys; I'll manage. _Õ


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